ALREADY!

My kids have been so excited for school to start. Okay, Liz and Mitch have been excited. Mitch woke up at 5 a.m. this morning, and went on a bike ride with his dad (everyone needs to work out before school starts!) Liz came in my room at 6 a.m., and told me to get up. She promptly got dressed, went downstairs, packed her school lunch, and prepared herself for her first day of school. She happily let me curl her hair, and cleaned her room, and did let me take pictures of her. Madeline (although not happy to go to school) still had a happy heart and enjoyed watching her little sister get so excited for her first day of school.

We drove them to school, and took pictures of all the "firsts." Elizabeth gave us a hug and kiss, and happily sent us on our way. Mitchell took his "helping other people" job seriously, and went about telling the new kids where and how to check in and start the day. Madeline surprised me...she got to class and I could tell she was feeling the stress of the moment. Her eyes watered, and she asked me not to leave. This is her first year (she's going into 4th grade) where she hasn't had a best friend in her class room, and I think the unknown of the upcoming year was slightly overwhelming in that moment.

So, here I am at home. Just finished my workout without one interruption. The sheets are being washed, beds are getting made, more laundry is waiting, and still there is QUIET. I think I might be insane to be ending this solitude in about a month. Ahhh, but the joy of a new baby (right?). So, now I am off to finish Mr. Noah's quilt.

Already loved!

I have tons of pictures to download, and so much to write about, but honestly....I don't want to do any of that stuff now. However, I do want to comment on this little guy growing so safe and warm within me. He is already so loved. Each day the kids kiss, cuddle, try to burp, and generally love this kid to pieces. Heavenly Father's plan is so amazing to me. I love that we are all sent to families that are already excited, happy, and ready to love and cherish us. Today, Elizabeth sat and "burped" Noah during sacrament meeting, she kissed him, talked to him, and sang to him. Mitchell gave me the biggest hug tonight before bed, then gave Noah a big kiss and told him how much he loved him. Man....kids really know how to melt hearts!

Isn't it Grand!

We spent last weekend at the Arizona Grand Resort. It was blistering hot, (seriously it was somewhere between 110-117 degrees while we were there), but at least we got to swim the whole time. Even though the temps were crazy high, I felt so blessed to be there. I had no idea that I needed a vacation as badly as I did, until I could take a few days to take a breath. I absolutely loved our vacation. I loved watching Mitchell tackle the insanely scary (for a 7 year old) super drop water slide. I loved watching Elizabeth prance in the wave pool. The looks from everyone at the park at my ever growing belly were also a plus. One nice lady even said to me..."you go girl, you look great." She must have known how I was feeling, what a nice gal. Bj was the ever wonderful father, and spent the majority of the time throwing, catching, tackling, and playing with the kids in the pool. I spent my time floating with Liz, and enjoying the weightless feeling water provides. Mitchell found much joy in hiding in the tubes so we couldn't see him.

Besides swimming, we did some other fun stuff, like eating. We went out to dinner each night (we brought food for breakfast and lunch), and had a quest to find the perfect chocolate cake. Well from the 3 places we went (Joe's Crab Shack, Ikea, and Claimjumper), the super Claimjumper cake WON. Of course, Liz spent the night throwing up the Claimjumper cake....but what can I say, it was pretty rich.

We also were able to do a 2 for 1 deal, and go to the temple while we were in town (saving us another trip this month). It was Denise's birthday on Saturday, so we celebrated together on Friday by some fun temple time, Ikea shopping, and dinner. Our kids loved having the chance to spend some time with their cousins, and I always love spending time with Denise and Seth.

All in all, our vacation rocked. I loved it. I loved the freedom it afforded me. I loved it wasn't too far away. I loved spending time with my little family (minus the much missed Madeline). I loved that the kids got along the whole trip (seriously amazing). I loved that Bj and I stayed up all night talking. Oh, and we can't forget the chocolate cake. Another plus....I know you wanted to know this little tidbit, I didn't even gain weight. ROCK ON!

Wrong!

You are all wrong! We are going to far away, and very exotic....Phoenix!

I know, it sounds kinda lame. It's not 2 hours away, but at least it is away. We had discussed going to Sedona (turned out to be too much $$$$$), then...hmmm, maybe we should go to San Diego. San Diego is 6 hours away, and I am seriously pregnant (riding in the car, yuck), and we only have three days. Scratch that. Maybe a nice mountain retreat, we could escape the heat, enjoy some solitude??? After not finding anything close (within 3 hours), we knew we had to give up, and just give in to the sweet kiddos, and party all day at the Arizona Grand Resort.

I actually am pretty excited. I get to escape my home, go somewhere hotter, bake in the sun, read my book, go to the Temple, enjoy down time with my kids and hubby, and escape my responsibilities. Party ON!